Clean energy beat coal in UK’s 2015 power mix

Renewable energy sources including which include onshore and offshore wind, solar, hydroelectric dams and biomass, provided a quarter of United Kingdom’s power supplies in 2015, outstripping coal power for the first time, according to recently published government data. Coal supplied 22 percent of the nation’s power last year, down 8 percentage points from 2014. Natural gas held steady, continuing to provide around 30 percent of the UK’s electricity. In combination with nuclear power, low-carbon power energy sources supplied a record 46 percent of the UK’s electricity in 2015. The rise in renewables was led by growing numbers of onshore and offshore wind turbines and solar panels, while the UK’s biggest coal-burning power station, Drax, in North Yorkshire, switched another unit to mostly burning biomass, mainly wood pellets.